File-holder



(No Model.)

W. H. PHELPS.

FILE HOLDER.

No. 312,012. Patented Feb. 10,1885.

UNITED STATES PATENT CEEicE- WILLIAM HENRY PHELPS, OF STAMFORD,CONNECTICUT.

FILE-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 312,012, dated February10,1885. Applicationfiled June ll, 1884. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM HENRY PHELPs, acitizen of the United States,and a resident of Stamford, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in File-Holders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to devices such as are used for holding files whenit is impracticable to operate with the ordinary axial handle attachedupon the file-tongue-as, for instance,

when filing large slide-valves and other flat 1 surfaces too large forthe reach of the file.

The object of my invention is to provide a file-holder of simple andimproved construetion which will afford facility for rapidly adjustingand firmly grasping the file in proper position for such uses asaforesaid, and will enable the operator to apply with a comfortablylarge rest for his hand the required downward pressure forward of thehandle (in the manner of planing with an ordinary hand plane) withoutrisk of hurting or cutting the fingers of his forward hand against themetal operated upon. The latter advantage is particularly important whenfiling the bottom and side walls of long groovessuch as splinegrooves inshaftswhere owing to the depth of the groove only a small portion of thefile is accessible to the hand, and with file-holders as heretofore madethe fingers were constantly liable to be cut by the sharp edges of thegroove.

My invention will be hereinafter described and claimed with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a side elevationof my improved file-holder. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 isa cross-section taken on the line a: m of the other figures.

A is the stock or body of the holder, somewhat similar to that of anordinary hand-plane, and made of metal. 13 is the handle, which is alsolike that of a cast in one and the same piece with the body or stock A;but Iprefer to attach it by screws b in a recess, a, formed at the rearend in the upper surface of the stock. The stock A has at one side edgethereof and at opposite ends of the said side edge two stationarydownward hand-plane, and may be projecting jaws, or, rather, shoulders,a, the

inner vertical edges of which are in line with each other,and form thesupport for one edge of the file to be clamped in the holder. Aboutmidway between the shoulders a the stock A g has a transverse socket orperforation, which serves as a guide for and in which is fitted toslidea sliding clamp, C. The said clamp consists of a broad and fiatportion. 0, which allows it toslide but prevents it from turning. A jawor shoulder, 0, projects downward from one end of the portion 0 at theside of the stock A opposite to that having the shoulders a, and athreaded shank, 0, pro j ects from the other end of the portion 0through the side edge of the stock A at which the aforesaid shoulders atare located, and is there provided with a washer, d, and a nut, D, bywhich the file may be pressed against the stationary shoulders at, andheld firmly in position to work.

For filing large fiat surfaces the file may be clamped by its sideedges, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l; but when filing longgrooves-such as the spline-groove of a shaft the file may be held onedge-that is, clamped by its broader surfaces. This is done by insertingbetween the surfaces of the file E and the sliding jaw c a suitableblock, 6, as shown in Fig. 3. This will enable the operator toconveniently file the sides and bottom of the spline-groove, bearingwith his forward hand upon the fiat end of the stock A to depress thefile against the work without danger of cutting his fingers upon thesharp edges of the groove. If another file be substituted for the block0, it is evident that two sides of an outer right angle may be filedsimultaneously.

I am aware that a handle for holding a file by clamping two oppositeedges thereof is very old, and I do not claim, broadly, such a handle;nor do I claim the constructions thereof shown in the United StatesPatents Nos. 135,684 and 231,890.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. A file-holder consisting of a stock, A, having atone edge thereof and at a distance apart two downward-projectingshoulders, a, a handle, B, projecting upward from the said stock, aclamp, C, arranged intermediate to the said shoulders to slidetransversely to the said stock, and provided with a toe, c, prohaving atone edge thereof and at a distance.

apart two downward-projecting shoulders, at, a handle, B, projectingupward from the said stock, a c1arnp,y0, arranged intermediate to thesaid shoulders to slide transversely to the said stock, and providedwith a toe, a, projecting downward at the side edge of the stockopposite that having the said shoulders 15 a, the said clamp having alsoa threaded shank, c and a nut, D, upon the said shank for tightening thegrip of the said clamp O, substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as 20 my invention I have signedmy name, in presence of two witnesses, this 21st day of May, 1884;.

WILLIAM HENRY PHELPS.

